As Real as the Moon
by MissGuitarist
Summary: JackLumina, megafluff oneshot. ...My fingers pulled one of the heartshaped petals off, holding it up in the moonlight. It’s there, right between my fingertips. Like a dream in my reality.


**A/N: I basically ruined Lumina's innocence in this story. Just a heads up.**

This is my first fluff-based oneshot! It was inspired by lyrics I wrote. I was sitting on the piano, playing my song, and then I said, "Hey, why don't I turn this into a fic?" because I have a short attention span and my brain works like that.

This oneshot is really long and I would understand if no one wants to read it. XD

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harvest Moon or any of the characters. I do own these lyrics and these words, however.

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**As Real as the Moon**

"If you keep on banging on the piano like that, I won't be able to get to sleep."

My head flicked up and my fingers froze in mid-air. They hung there, halted before they could slam down onto the keys again. I turned towards the stream of light flowing in from the open door to my right. My grandmother, Romana, stood, peering through the little crack at me.

"Oh, Grandma! I'm so sorry," I told her, stumbling over my words in embarrassment. I couldn't see her face, because the door was only slightly open, but I heard her laugh that soft cackle of hers.

"It's alright, dear," she assured me. I looked down at the piano keys under my fingers. They were covered with a blanket of moonlight, flowing in from the open window beside me. The faint light coated everything where I sat, lighting the red carpet beneath my feet, shining across my cheeks. The old lady stuck her head through the opening, and looking at me with tired eyes, she spoke again.

"Lumina, do you know what time it is?" she asked me with one eyebrow lifted high.

"No," I answered her honestly. She laughed again.

"I thought as much," she sighed, shaking her head. There was a short moment of silence as she checked her watch. "It's around one o'clock, I believe."

A sigh escaped my chest. Already?

"Oh," I mumbled, letting strands of light brown hair fall over my eyes. "Sorry, Grandmother. I didn't mean to keep you up."

"Ah, don't apologize. It's fine," she replied. "It's time for you to go to bed, though, dear."

I felt my face contort into a disappointed frown, and I looked at her with puppy dog eyes. I knew she couldn't resist the puppy dog eyes. "Five more minutes. Please?"

"I can't believe you're eighteen and can still make that face."

I saw that she didn't want to put up with this. It was one o'clock in the morning, after all. "Just a little longer, Grandmother. I won't be up long, I promise."

"I'm tired, Lumina," she replied.

"Please?" I begged her, sticking my bottom lip out just a bit. When she didn't say anything, I made my lip tremble, hoping I'd look a little more pitiful.

I heard a sigh come from the doorway, and I knew I had won.

"Thank you Grandma!" I grinned, flashing my teeth at her. She rolled her eyes and smiled back.

"Only five minutes. No more."

"Got it!" I told her, tilting my head down immediately. My hands began to slide up and down the keys as if I had never stopped in the first place.

I got lost in the music. When I say lost, I mean _really _lost, like, sucked into my own little world where no one is there but me and this piano. Of course, that's just the way I am. Piano is my passion, my life. It's always been that way, even before I knew how to play and listened to Grandma Romana instead. I had always gotten lost in music, and this little moment was no exception.

Suddenly, in the midst of the song, my fingers hammered down onto the wrong keys. The mangled chord cut through the night air like a blade. I cringed, letting my hands jerk off the piano like it had shocked me.

I messed up. I messed up, for the first time in a long time.

I put my hands back down and started that part over. At first I was nervous and played with caution, taking sharp breaths as I concentrated. After a while, my eyelids drifted shut, and I found my rhythm. I let my fingers run up and down the piano without even thinking about it anymore. I was once again in my own little world.

And then I hit that chord again. That same exact chord, the same black and white keys, the same part where I had messed up before.

But… why?

I put my fingers in the position they were in when I hit the wrong keys. Then, taking a quick breath, I pushed down again. The group of notes rang into my ears and made me cock my head to the side. It was strange sounding chord. And it was… familiar. My brow crinkled as I stared at my hands.

And then I remembered.

That chord was the beginning to a song. My song.

I hit those keys again and listened. Then, I hit the next chord that followed. It was amazing how I remembered those sounds; it had been months since I played it last. I don't know how, but I kept playing, not knowing where my fingers were going to go. I felt… possessed, almost. I hit the next chord and the next, and before I knew what was happening, my fingers were moving across the keys, remembering the melody on their own.

_The middle of the night and_

_Everyone's asleep but me_

My lips parted and I began to sing. There were words to this song, and I remembered them well.

_I'm still thinking about you_

_You know, the way I always do._

A smile formed on my face. I had written this a while back, when I was seventeen. It was one of those times when you just can't get that guy out of your head, you know? I couldn't help it, though. I had fallen head over heels for him.

_Maybe I'm a dreamer_

_I'm just young and naïve_

_Wanting to be with you_

_You know, the way I always do._

My eyes fluttered shut as I tapped my fingers softly on the keys. He had driven me crazy back then… and he still does. And I'm still young and naive.

_You're on my mind_

_Almost all the time_

_And I can't try to understand_

_Or wonder why._

_You're on my mind_

_Almost all the time_

_And the only words I know are_

_You and I, you and I._

I sighed, eyes still closed, as the chorus ended and the piano became soft again. An overwhelming feeling of longing crashed down on me like a tidal wave, making me bite my bottom lip. I'm still crazy about him, and it hurts. He gives me flowers and homemade dishes all the time, and it just makes me like him more, even if he gives those things to everybody. Still, I wonder if they're not just acts of kindness; if the gifts are meant to be more than just _gifts_. And I hope they are, even if it'll crush me in the end to know the truth.

_The moon's high above me and_

_I'm dreaming of your smile._

_I still dream of you_

_You know, the way I always do._

Sitting there, singing that song, I couldn't help but feel a strange pain. I don't know why, but it grew stronger with every note that rang through the air. It was the kind of pain that was a mix of things, like sorrow, regret, and most of all, longing. And it really hurt—like my insides were tearing themselves apart.

_Now I'm singing this song for you_

_You know, the way I always do._

I felt like my heart was being twisted inside out. It really, really hurt. Too much. I shut my eyes as tight as I could and struck the next notes blindly, struggling to breathe. It really, really, _really_ hurt.

_The way I do when I think of you._

I didn't know what keys I was pressing our how bad I sounded, and I didn't care. I sang as loud as I possibly could, hitting the keys with all my strength, trying to hold back the emotions that that threatened to tear me in two.

_You're on my mind_

_Almost all the time_

_And I can't try to understand_

_Or wonder why_

_You're on my mind_

_Almost all the time_

_And the only words I know are_

_You and I, you and I._

My stirring emotions slowed with the music, and my eyes slowly opened. The only feeling I knew was that burning, tearing sensation deep inside me as I finished the chorus. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself enough to sing the last part.

_And the only words I know are you and I, you and I…_

_You and I._

My voice faltered at the last three words. I lightly hit the final chord and held it for what seemed like forever. I didn't breathe, listening hard as the music came to an end. A soft breeze flowed in from the open window, the only other sound in the silence that followed. When the final chord died away, I removed my hands from the keys and lay them on my lap, closing my eyes again.

"Beautiful," breathed a voice from behind me. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck from the warm puff of air. I almost opened my mouth to say 'Thank you'. Then, my instincts hit me.

My eyelids shot open and my heart leaped out of my throat.

"Ah!" I screeched as I whipped around. The room was dark, but the moon's light flowed in through the window, illuminating the grinning face before me.

"Hello," he smirked, laughing at my expression, probably. I stared back at him with my mouth hanging wide open. I would have been mad but I was too surprised.

"Jack," I whispered, but I don't know why, since I had already ruined the chances of anyone being asleep a few seconds ago, "W-What are you doing here?"

"Lumina! What's wrong?" came a voice from the bedroom. The door behind my back creaked as someone's fingers pushed it open. I didn't know it was possible, but my already-fast-beating heart started to beat even faster. Oh no. What was she going to think when she saw him here?

I caught the fleeting look on Jack's face as I flicked my head around. His smirk had been wiped off with a look of clear panic. Just like me.

"Lumina, darling, what happened?" yelled Grandmother, barging through the door as fast as she could (which really wasn't that fast). Her white hair was falling out of the neat bun planted atop her head. I stared back at her, trying to make myself look calm. I don't think I did a good job.

"N-nothing, Grandma," I lied. My heart pounded in my ears like a drum. She didn't seem to notice Jack, wherever he went. Instead, her eyes bore into mine.

Then she made a face at me. It was the kind of face that made you uncomfortable; the 'I-don't-believe-you' face. "Then why did you scream?"

My breath caught in my throat. What could I say? What could I say that wouldn't sound completely stupid? Nothing would come to my head. Heavy beating pulsed through my ears and I could swear my palms were sweating.

"I…" I stuttered, "I… u-uh…"

"You what?" she asked.

"I… I…"

I continued to stutter. She raised an eyebrow at me.

"I, uh, um—I saw a rat."

She gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh no! I better call the exterminator—or call Sebastian to get his gun out—or—"

"No, Grandma, it's okay!" I cut her off, trying to calm her, "It's okay. I, uh… I _thought_ I saw a rat. It was really just a shadow." I looked at her as sincerely as I possibly could. But inside, my mind was screaming at me with a million tiny voices. They were telling me that I was a liar, a dirty little liar. A dirty little liar that couldn't lie very well.

She blinked at me. "Oh. Are you sure?"

"Yeah," I replied. Then, I averted my gaze to the floor and continued, "I'm sorry for bothering you again."

Her gaze remained on me. After a moment of silence, she squinted, confused. I couldn't tell what she was thinking. Instead of studying her, I looked down at my hands in my lap. Awkwardness closed in on us. I heard the patting of feet on carpet as she turned to march to her bedroom.

Before she left completely, she pulled open the door and looked over her shoulder. "Go to bed, now, dear. You're too tired. And your five minutes are up."

Pfft. I was _not_ tired.

"Yes, Grandmother," I mumbled without looking up, playing with my fingers. She treated me like a child still, even though I was legally an adult. It was aggravating.

She gave me one last scrutinizing stare and turned to close the door behind her. The click of it shutting echoed across the room, leaving me alone in complete and utter silence.

Finally, she was gone. A grin spread across my face.

I turned around in my seat, expecting _him_ to be smirking at me, but he wasn't there. My eyes flicked across the room as I searched for him, but found nothing.

"Jack? Jack, you can come out now."

I bent to look under the piano, and then stood up to look around the area once more. No one. Where had he gone? He couldn't have gotten too far in that little time. Could he? I plopped back down on the bench and stared at whatever was in front of me.

He was gone. Just like that. Like he was never really there at all. Huh.

Maybe he hadn't been.

I looked at the empty space where he was before, recreating his grinning face in my mind. I had probably imagined him again, like I had many times before. The trees outside my window rattled, making their shadows in the room dance, amplifying the absence of his presence. I was alone. He was never there, was he? A breeze rushed into the empty room and over my skin, answering my question, making me shiver. He wasn't. He really wasn't there.

When I just about convinced myself to think that it had all been my imagination, and that fleeting moment was never real, my eyes flicked downward. Sitting on the keys was a note, folded in quarters. It had the words 'To Lumina' scribbled on the top. I knew that untidy scrawl.

I picked it up tentatively and slipped a finger in between one of the folds. My heart fluttered like a flock of butterflies inside my chest as I opened it. I unraveled the note completely as the crinkling sound of paper stopped, holding it up with one hand. Faint moonlight shone on the note as my eyes flitted across the page.

_Dear Lumina,_

_The middle of the night and_

_Everyone's asleep but you and me_

_I'm __at your window waiting for you_

_You know, the way I always do_

_-__Jack_

At the window… waiting?

I ripped my gaze from the note and looked towards the open window. The thin curtains covering it were flapping softly from the slight breeze. I stood up and my feet moved towards the window, uncertain, taking small steps. I didn't know if I was scared or just nervous. Probably both. My hand reached out, slowly pulling the white sheet away. I peeked out of the gap like a child would.

It was dark, but the moonlight was enough to allow me to see. Spiky brown hair came into view first, then two caramel-colored eyes. Those I eyes I knew so well. I pulled the curtain away more. Next came his soft, kind smile; the one that I loved. The one that made my heart skip a beat sometimes. I pulled the fabric away completely, revealing the rest of him.

And there he was, staring at me from below. I was almost a head taller than him from where I stood. His soft smile spread across his cheeks and he grinned up at me.

"Oh, Lumina!" he said with a fake look of surprise on his face, "It's a pleasure meeting you here."

I was speechless. My mouth could hardly move but I managed to squeak something.

"Wha—how did you—"

"I got in through your window. Then I hid under the piano when your Grandma came in, and when she turned around, I ran over to the window and hopped out. Clever, eh?"

My mouth was still hanging open. I was still in shock, even though this was the fourth or fifth time I had been surprised today. That was Jack: full of surprises.

His eyes flicked to the ground and his voice became low, "Of course, I dropped off that note before I ran." His gaze traveled to my hands, which were resting on the old wood under me. One of them had his note under it. A rush of blood flooded my face when I saw what he was looking at. Jack looked up and saw the bright red on my cheeks. Smirking, his eyes penetrated mine.

Oh Goddess.

I think my heart just skipped a beat again.

"Oh," I mumbled, staring at him blankly. Ugh. Was that the only thing I could think of?

My not-so-witty comment led to an awkward silence, of course. I cursed myself silently, hoping he'd say something instead of smiling at me like that. And I couldn't look away from him. His eyes held mine like a trap. A soft gust of wind passed through my hair, making it whirl around my head, and making Jack's fall over his face.

I felt like screaming. He wouldn't stop staring at me. I think I would have screamed, but he broke the silence before I had the chance.

"Why were you crying?"

The question caught me off guard. "Huh?"

He flicked away the hair in his eyes and spoke again, but he wasn't smiling anymore. "At the end of the song, you were crying."

"Was I?" I asked stupidly. I didn't know I was crying. I guess, now that I think about it, my cheeks were a little wet.

"Yes."

"Oh," I replied, and averted my stare to the wood under my fingers. My knuckles were white from gripping the corners so hard.

"Why?" he repeated.

I didn't know what to do. What was I supposed to say? That I was crying because I was thinking of him and wanted to be with him and all that mumbo jumbo? That would be too embarrassing. My hands gripped the wood even tighter.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what I said.

"I was thinking of you." The words came out of me before I had a chance to stop them. My eyes widened in shock at myself and I stopped breathing.

For some reason, my eyes removed themselves from the floor and I looked at him. His eyes were wide; maybe even as wide as mine. I guess he was surprised. I can't believe I had surprised _him_ for once.

He seemed frozen, standing there like a statue. So did I. Time seemed to stop, making the moment unbearably uncomfortable.

I couldn't stand it anymore. I looked away, pulling us out of the timeless void.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, cheeks glowing in humiliation as my eyes bore into the ground. I couldn't see his face, but I didn't want to. Instead, I turned away, making the curtain flutter behind me.

"Wait!" he called after me. I started to run, taking a brisk step away from the window. He was faster than me, though. His arm shot out, grabbing me by the wrist, stopping me in my tracks. I tried to yank my arm free, but he was too strong.

"Do you even know why I'm here? Right now, in the middle of the night?" Jack asked me as I tugged and jerked. Realizing what he'd said, I stopped struggling. My arm hung in his hand, suspended there. I turned my head, just enough to see him over my shoulder.

"No," I muttered. When I said that, he pulled me around, now leaning in through the window. His grip loosened and he let my arm fall limply by my side.

Then his eyes met mine.

"I'm here because," he paused and looked down for a fleeting second, then back at me, "I'm here because I was thinking of you, too."

I was again surprised, for the 50th time in a row.

"…What?" I asked, confused, raising an eyebrow. His cheeks flushed bright pink.

"I couldn't get to sleep because I was thinking about you," he mumbled quietly, "So… I came to see you."

Then he locked eyes with me. I felt some sort of warmth pass through my body, flowing through me like hot water. My lips parted; but no words came out. I didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry, Lumina. This is really mushy, and sentimental and all that," he apologized, embarrassed. It was kind of funny, seeing him hanging half-way through a window and as flustered as he was. He continued to speak, mumbling barely-audible words.

"I wanted you to know that… well, I've known you for so long, but I don't know… I just suddenly… now… I just…" he stuttered. His face was so red. I giggled and took a step towards him.

"It's okay," I replied, smiling, looking down at him. His eyes were shadows in the darkness as his head tilted down, staring through the floor. When he didn't say anything, I spoke again.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Jack's head flicked up at my words and he gazed at me. He looked cute, looking up at me with eyes that wide and tousled hair. I blushed and smiled back at him.

Then, suddenly, he brought his hands up to my face, pulling me down.

"Jack, what are y—" I squeaked, but I didn't get to finish. My eyes shot open as I was cut off by his lips.

You'd think by now I'd be sick of surprises. But I wasn't.

At that moment, all I could feel was his lips brushing against mine as my heart beat faster than it ever did before. My eyes were still wide open. Did he just… kiss me?

I didn't even know he pulled away when he did.

"I've always admired you from afar. Lately, I've been thinking and… I realized it wasn't enough," he told me, staring at me sincerely, "And when I saw you cry… I didn't like that at all. I don't like it when you cry, Lumina. Especially when it's my fault."

My eyes were still wide, as I was frozen in place. "Your fault… it wasn't your…" I stuttered. He leaned in for another kiss before I could finish my sentence.

Every time he lifted his lips off of mine, he just came back and kissed me again, like he was afraid to let me go. I didn't do anything; I just let him rub his mouth against me. After a while, I let my eyelids flutter shut as the shock drifted away and was replaced with a new feeling; one I'd never felt before. His kisses were soft; gentle—just like his smile. His hands were still cupping my face, and I wrapped my arms around him in return. I was finding it hard to breathe as he pushed himself against me.

And it got harder to breathe as his kisses became rougher and longer. I had never kissed anyone before, but for a first kiss, this wasn't so bad, despite the fact Jack was dangling over the edge of a window.

"I'm…" he gasped in between kisses, "Sorry… for… making you… cr—"

I muffled his last word with my mouth. My hands made their way up to his hair, and his to my lower back as he pushed me closer. My heart was beating so fast I wasn't sure I was going to live much longer. I started to play with his hair, wrapping my fingers around and around in the strands, tugging and pulling. I wasn't even sure what I was doing anymore.

And suddenly there was a loud crash as we hit the floor together. His eyes shot open as he fell through the window, finally losing his balance in the awkward position, and I came down with him. His arms were wrapped around me as we hit the ground. We lay there, immobile, breathless and shocked.

"Whoa," he exhaled, panting, and looked at me in amazement. I giggled at him, despite our position on the floor. He smiled back. We gazed into each other's eyes for a split second and he was at it again, leaning over to commence another kiss. My eyelids drifted shut and I reached up to meet his mouth with mine.

"Lumina?" Grandma screamed, "What was that?!"

Oh no.

"Shit," he muttered. He ripped his lips away from mine, scrambling off the floor as I struggled to stand. He pulled me up, making sure he didn't hurt me, even in a situation like this. When we were both standing up straight, we locked eyes for a brief moment.

"Go," I whispered. He nodded, turned, and ran to the window, right as the bedroom door flew open.

"What happened?" she yelled, eyes wide and noticeably bloodshot. This time she had a hammer held in her hands. When I saw the hammer, I freaked.

"Calm down! It's okay, Grandma!" I told her, frantically trying to keep her from busting anything, "I, uh… caught the rat."

"Caught the rat?" she asked me, wrinkling her brow. "But you said that there was no rat."

Oh, yeah. I did say that.

Crap.

"Uh, well, it was real," I stuttered. "It was um, on the floor. Yeah. Running around and stuff."

My cheeks felt so hot. It wasn't because I was nervous right now, either.

"Where is it now?" she asked, a suspicious look growing on her face, "And why are your cheeks so red?"

My heart beat started to pound in my ears again. "I… um… well…"

"And why are your lips so swollen?"

"Um… I—uh…"

Every bone in my body wanted to leap out the window and run. She merely stared at me, waiting for my answer. Too bad I didn't have one.

"You what?" she asked me, starting to become seriously concerned.

"I threw it out the window," I answered her finally, staring at the rug, trying to hide any indications on my face as to what really happened. She raised her eyebrow higher.

"And your cheeks?"

Crap. Crap, crap, crap. "I was… uh… running around the room, um, trying to catch it. Why wouldn't my cheeks be red?"

Her eyebrow rose even higher. Before she could ask about my lips, I answered her.

"And about the lips? The rat bit me there. Now they're all swollen."

Silence followed my words (or rather, lies). She stared at me for a long while as my gaze burned a mark into the floor. In my mind, I was secretly praying to the Goddess with all the soul I could manage at the moment.

"Of course," she smiled at me and shook her head. "I don't know why I ever doubted you." Then she laughed at herself. I merely stared at her with a blank expression on my face, thanking the Goddess on the inside. When her laughter died away, she looked at me like she was going to speak again.

"Lumina, didn't I tell you to go to bed?"

I nodded quickly. "Uh, yeah. Sorry."

She smiled back at me. "Ah, it's okay, dear. After all, catching that rat must've been hard."

Oh yeah. Real hard.

"Mhmm."

"Well, let's go to sleep now, shall we?" she asked me, walking towards the bedroom. She stopped and waited for me, to find that I was standing in the same spot I was before.

"Okay Grandma. Can I check and make sure the rat's not waiting by our window?"

"Sure, dear," she replied. I turned, briskly walking to the open window, in which the curtains were spread wide open. I stuck my head out the opening, looking left and right and down at the ground. No one was there. The night breeze brushed over my skin, making goose bumps rise on my arms. Taking one last glance, I pulled my head back in.

Before I turned away, though, my hand brushed against something on the windowsill. My head tilted down. Under my fingers was a flower with blue petals and a long, green stem. I picked it up, twirling it around in my hand. My eyes fluttered shut when I brought it to my nose and breathed in the scent of it. It smelled like a mixture of the midnight air and him.

Taking it away from my face, I looked down at the flower in my hand, and I couldn't help but smile. My fingers pulled one of the heart-shaped petals off, holding it up in the moonlight. It's there, right between my fingertips. Like a dream in my reality.

But it's not a dream. It's as real as the moon shining down on it.

No… I don't think I'm dreaming anymore.

"Lumina," Grandmother called me, an impatient tone edging her voice, "Lumina!" Her voice cut through my thought bubble like a knife. I blinked twice and spun around on my heels.

"Coming!"

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**A/N: -winces at the ****mushiness****-**

**…**** Haven't you ever**** wanted to see Lumina be naughty? ;)**

**Lmao. That was SO out of character for her. XD**

**In case you wanted to know (I know ****you didn't), the song is titled 'You and I' and it's by me, as I mentioned before.**** It doesn't have amazing lyrics, but when you squeeze words into a song, you don't have room to make it all fancy. You know?**

**Thanks for reading. I know it wasn't that great, but this was written for fun.**

**Criticism is needed, reviews are awesome.**


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